Jumpers keep chilly chickens warm

A group of former battery farm chickens who had their feathers pecked out have been given woolly jumpers to keep warm.

Brigitte Hawley, from Benenden, in Kent, gave the four bald birds a new home last November after receiving them from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust.

She designed the knitwear to protect them during the winter as they adapted to life away from the chicken sheds.



"Just to see them around the garden and doing what chickens should do is lovely," said Ms Hawley.

Ms Hawley said her invention, which she calls a "chux tux", had been adapted from a bobble hat, and came in different designs depending on which parts of the bird were in need of insulation.

Since their release from captivity, her four battery hens are now showing signs of recovery, thanks to the designer knitwear.